better suited their current needs. “Our initial
plan was to renovate an income property
we owned in Peacock Gap,” she recalls. But
after adding up the costs of customizing the
home to their tastes, the seasoned real estate
mavens recognized that they’d end up with
a home that exceeded the neighborhood
market value.

Plan B: do what they’d done a dozen times
before — house-hunt. It took just two weeks
to identify their current digs. But, unlike
past projects, this home was no diamond in
the rough. In fact, the mint-condition property, with an almost half-acre resort-style
backyard, had piqued the interest of a number
of buyers. “There were four other offers on
the house,” Donna says. But by offering true
market value, closing quickly, and sweetening
the deal with a generous rent-back, Donna and
Jodie won the bidding war.

While the home was clearly well cared for,Jodie and Donna didn’t love all the finishes— some were not to taste, and others simplylooked dated. “The sellers did not skimp onquality,” Jodie notes. “From their choice ofcabinetry, windows, floors, stone, doors, andeven the hardware and plumbing fixtures, itwas clear they had put their heart and soulinto this home.”Good bones meant the couple could puttheir personal stamp on the place by mak-ing lots of small changes. For example, theypainted almost the entire house, inside andout. They also re-imagined the living roomand dining spaces with sophisticated and con-temporary furnishings and new lighting. Theyadded hardwood floors to the master bedroomand updated the window treatments.

Admittedly, this home is large for emptynesters. “It’s a great house, but much biggerthan we realized,” Donna says. Is it too big?Only time will tell. “I don’t know how longwe’ll stay,” she adds. “But for now, we are busydecorating and enjoying our new space.” mJODIE SILBERMAN AND Donna Isralsky are passionate about home design. Over a period of more than 25 years, they’ve bought and sold at least a dozen places and lived in numerouscommunities, including Alameda, Sonomaand, most recently, Marin County.

Their first foray into Marin real estate
wasn’t even intentional. The couple, along with
their son Lucas, had moved down from Sonoma
and decided to rent before committing to a long-term future in Marin. “Our son was attending
high school here, and we were deciding whether
Marin was a good fit,” Donna, a real estate
agent, says. However, shortly after they moved
into their place, the owners asked if they were
interested in buying. “It wasn’t a place we’d typically choose, but it made good financial sense
and was a home that we knew we could improve
upon,” she recalls.

Once Lucas left for college, though, Donnarecognized it was time to find a house that